Soeharto to visit South Sumatra this month

JAKARTA (JP): Women, archeology and fertilizer do not really have anything in common but they will when President Soeharto travels to South Sumatra's capital of Palembang on Dec. 22.

On that day, the President will inaugurate National Women's Day, a park for the research of the ancient kingdom of Sriwijaya and a new production unit of PT PUSRI, the state-owned fertilizer firm.

State Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi, Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro, Coordinating Minister of Industry and Trade Hartarto and South Sumatra Governor Ramli Hasan Basri yesterday reported together to Soeharto about the preparations.

Although the precise location of the seat of Sriwijaya is still widely disputed by historians, Palembang has won official recognition as the archeological site for research of the Hindu kingdom which once ruled most of Indonesia.

Ramli said yesterday that a plaque dating back to seventh century was recently found in Kedukan Bukit near Palembang to further confirm the claim about the location of the kingdom.

This is the oldest script ever found in Indonesia to date.

Recent satellite photos also found traces of man-made canals linking the Musi river to the Kedukan Bukit which were built during the heyday of Sriwijaya, he said, adding that the canals formed a gigantic task given the simple tools and technology of the time.

The site has now been converted into an archeological park which Soeharto will inaugurate later this month.

The women's day will also be celebrated in the same place on Dec.22, he said. Among the guests invited will be a group of women leaders from Myanmar.

Soeharto will also travel to the PT PUSRI plant to inaugurate the B1 unit which will make it the largest fertilizer plant in Southeast Asia, he added. (emb)